Nitric oxide is an important cellular signaling molecule involved in many physiological and pathological processes. It is a powerful vasodilator with a short half-life of a few seconds in the blood. Nitric Oxide is a free form of gas produced by the cells in our body. It is produced when enzymes in the body break down the amino acid Arginine, and is mainly used for intra-cellular communication. Nitric Oxide is required for key physiological functions within our body. It travels freely from one cell to another assisting in a variety of biological functions. Depending on the requirement, Nitric Oxide can act as a hormone, a neurotransmitter and an intracellular messenger.
Nitric Oxide is crucial for a variety of body functions, and it is essential that the cells produce adequate amount of this gas within our bodies. Body builders or those who perform rigorous physical activities need a higher amount of NO, as it allows for an increase in blood flow while building muscles. Signs of NO deficiency include extreme fatigue and physical weakness. It is useful in treating a variety of conditions such as insomnia, obesity, diabetes and sexual problems. In the cardiovascular system, NO is an important determinant of basal vascular tone, prevents platelet activation, limits leukocyte adhesion to the endothelium, and regulates myocardial contractility. NO may also play a role in the pathogenesis of common cardiovascular disorders, including hypotension accompanying shock states, essential hypertension, and atherosclerosis. Nitric oxide regulates blood circulation throughout the body, increases the diameter of blood vessels and prevents formation of clots. It assists the endothelial cells in controlling and relaxing blood vessels. Nitric oxide is a cytotoxic agent of macrophages, a messenger molecule of neurons, and a vasodilator produced by endothelial cells. The Immune cells within our body release Nitric Oxide to destroy bacteria, virus and other harmful foreign organisms that can cause infections. NO is also known to prevent tumour and cancerous growths within the body cells.
Nitric Oxide has been shown to be mediator of erectile function. Nitric Oxide stimulates, invigorates and amplifies the sexual response mechanism within the body. Sensory and mental stimulation causes the nerve cells to release nitric oxide. This causes the penis muscles to relax, allowing blood to flow into the penis and create an erection. The process remains the same for women too, as blood flow increases in their vaginal tissues. Nitric Oxide increases the endurance level of the muscle cells, enabling you to lift heavier load and perform strenuous activities with ease. Nitric Oxide acts as an intracellular messenger between various cells in the body, including the nerve cells. With adequate amount of NO present in the body, the communication between nerve cells is faster, leading to quick responses and an increase in focus and vigilance. Common disorders that promote atherosclerosis, such as hypertension, hyperlipidemia, smoking, and diabetes, are all associated with abnormal endothelial function, one manifestation of which is a comparative deficiency of bioactive NO. A deficiency of NO producing neurons in the gastrointestinal tract is believed to be responsible for certain abnormalities in gastrointestinal motility, such as Hirschsprung's disease, achalasia, and chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction. NO is also believed to play an important role in gastric cytoprotection, possibly by way of increased mucosal blood flow and the modulation of gastric epithelial function.
Production of Nitric Oxide in Human Body (Biosynthesis)
NO is produced from the amino acid L-arginine by the enzymatic action of nitric oxide synthase (NOS). There are two endothelial forms of NOS: constitutive NOS (cNOS; type III) and inducible NOS (iNOS; type II). Co-factors for NOS include oxygen, NADPH, tetrahydrobiopterin and flavin adenine nucleotides. In addition to endothelial NOS, there is a neural NOS (nNOS; type I) that serves as a transmitter in the brain and in different nerves of the peripheral nervous system, such as non-adrenergic, non-cholinergic autonomic nerves that innervate penile erectile tissues and other specialized tissues in the body to produce vasodilation.
Under normal, basal condition in blood vessels, NO is continually being produced by cNOS. The activity of cNOS is calcium and calmodulin-dependent. There are two basic pathways for the stimulation of cNOS, both of which involve release of calcium ions from subsarcolemmal storage sites. First, shearing forces acting on the vascular endothelium generated by blood flow causes a release of calcium and subsequent cNOS activation. Therefore, increases in blood flow stimulate NO formation (flow-dependent NO formation). Second, endothelial receptors for a variety of ligands stimulate calcium release and subsequent NO production (receptor-stimulated NO formation). Included are receptors for acetylcholine, bradykinin, substance-P, adenosine, and many others vasoactive substances.
The other isoform of endothelial NOS is iNOS. It differs, in part, from cNOS in that its activation is calcium independent. Under normal, basal conditions, the activity of iNOS is very low. The activity of iNOS is stimulated during inflammation by bacterial endotoxins (e.g., lipopolysaccharide) and cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and interleukins. During inflammation, the amount of NO produced by iNOS may be a 1,000-fold greater than that produced by cNOS.
Production of NO from Dietary Nitrates
Dietary nitrate is an important source of nitric oxide in mammals. Green, leafy vegetables, and some root vegetables (such as beetroot) have high concentrations of nitrate. When eaten and absorbed into the bloodstream nitrate is concentrated in saliva (about 10 fold) and is reduced to nitrite on the surface of the tongue by a biofilm of commensal facultative anaerobic bacteria. This nitrite is swallowed and reacts with acid and reducing substances in the stomach (such as ascorbate) to produce high concentrations of nitric oxide.
An Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) for nitrate of 3.7 mg/kg b.w./day, equivalent to 222 mg nitrate per day for a 60 kg adult was established by the former Scientific Committee on Food (SCF) and was reconfirmed by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA).
The bioactivation of nitrate from dietary or endogenous sources requires its initial reduction to nitrite, and because mammals lack specific and effective nitrate reductase enzymes, this conversion is mainly carried out by commensal bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract and on body surfaces. Nitrite is unique to the nitrogen oxides in its redox position between oxidative (NO2 radical) and reductive (NO radical) signalling and its relative stability in blood and tissue. Once nitrite is formed, there are numerous pathways in the body for its further reduction to NO, involving haemoglobin, myoglobin, xanthine oxidoreductase, ascorbate, polyphenols and protons. The generation of NO by these pathways is greatly enhanced during hypoxia and acidosis, thereby ensuring NO production in situations for which the oxygen-dependent NOS enzyme activities are compromised. Dietary nitrate is rapidly absorbed in the upper gastrointestinal tract. In the blood, it mixes with the nitrate formed from the oxidation of endogenous NO produced from the NOS enzymes. After a meal rich in nitrate, the levels in plasma increase greatly and remain high for a prolonged period of time.
Once in the oral cavity, commensal facultative anaerobic bacteria use nitrate as an alternative electron acceptor to oxygen during respiration, effectively reducing salivary nitrate to nitrite by the action of nitrate reductases. Human nitrate reduction requires the presence of these bacteria—suggesting a functional symbiosis relationship—as mammalian cells cannot effectively metabolize this anion. The salivary nitrate levels can approach 10 mM and nitrite levels 1-2 mM after a dietary nitrate load. When saliva enters the acidic stomach (1-1.5 1 per day), much of the nitrite is rapidly protonated to form nitrous acid (HNO2; pKa ˜3.3), which decomposes further to form NO and other nitrogen oxides. Nitrite reduction to NO is greatly enhanced by reducing compounds such as vitamin C and polyphenols, both of which are abundant in the diet.
The percentage of nitrate content in leafy vegetables is very less to significantly increase the nitric oxide level in the blood when taken orally. A larger quantity is required to be ingested at regular interval to get significant level of nitric oxide in the blood. Consumption of large quantity of leafy vegetables on regular basis is not convenient in such a busy life. Thus, providing a supplement developed from nitrate containing plant in the form of compact delivery system will be a convenient alternate to generate higher nitric oxide content in the blood. Moreover, as nitrates are required to be converted into nitrites in the mouth itself (by commensal facultative anaerobic bacteria), it will be more advantageous if the nitrate rich formulation can be delivered to oral cavity in the form of chewing gum, lozenge, candy etc. Delivery via oral cavity offers certain advantages over conventional delivery of drugs.
The sites of drug administration in the oral cavity include the floor of the mouth (sublingual), the inside of the cheeks (buccal) and the gums (gingival). Drug administration via oral cavity offers several distinct advantages:                The buccal mucosa is relatively permeable with a rich blood supply, robust in comparison to the other mucosal tissues.        Bypass the first-pass effect and non-exposure of the drugs to the gastrointestinal fluids.        Improve the performance of many drugs, as they are having prolonged contact time with the mucosa.        High patient acceptance compared to other non-oral routes of drug administration.        As a result of adhesion and intimate contact, the formulation stays longer at the delivery site improving API bioavailability using lower API concentrations for disease treatment.        Harsh environmental factors that exist in oral delivery of a drug are circumvented by buccal drug delivery.        
A lot of work has been done for enhancing the level of nitric oxide in the blood for human beings and method of administration of medicaments/formulations, including those originated from plants (botanical source) available in nature in plenty. A short review of some of the prior art will elucidate how we have addressed the issue compared to other prior art and how effectively we could address enhancing the level of nitric oxide in the blood for human beings and the method of treating diseases as well as source for overcoming certain deficiencies of humanbeings.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,303,995, Bryan et al, discloses a nitrite formulations and their use as nitric oxide prodrugs. The Compositions comprising from about 40 weight parts to about 1000 weight parts of a botanical nitrate source; from about 20 weight parts to about 500 weight parts of a botanical source of nitrite reduction activity; and from about 4 weight parts to about 100 weight parts of a nitrite salt.
The botanical source of nitrite reduction activity is selected from the group consisting of hawthorn berry, Schisandra, green tea, beet root, pine bark, holy basil, gymnema sylvestre, ashwagandha root, salvia, St. John wort, broccoli, stevia, spinach, gingko, kelp, tribulus, eleuthero, epimedium, eucommia, rhodiola, green tea, codonopsys, panax ginseng, astragalus, dodder seed, cordyceps, berries, tea, beer, grapes, wine, olive oil, chocolate, cocoa, coffee, walnuts, peanuts, borojo, pomegranates, popcorn, yerba mate, and mixtures thereof. Methods of reducing triglycerides or reducing C-reactive protein levels are also provided.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,298,589, Bryan et al, is related to ‘Nitrite formulations and their use as nitric oxide prodrugs having a composition comprising nitrite salt (10 mg to 100 mg), nitrate salt (50 mg to 500 mg), ascorbic acid (100 mg to 2000 mg) of sodium and potassium.
Patent publication No US 20130071494, Bryan et al, also discloses a nitrite formulations and their use as nitric oxide prodrugs. The compositions comprise of from about 40 weight parts to about 1000 weight parts of a botanical nitrate source; from about 20 weight parts to about 500 weight parts of a botanical source of nitrite reduction activity; and from about 4 weight parts to about 100 weight parts of a nitrite salt Use of said composition in methods of reducing triglycerides or reducing C-reactive protein levels are also disclosed here.
Patent publication No US 20120321724, and WO 201323217 Bryan et al, discloses a method of measuring in vivo nitric oxide and nitrite levels in individuals by providing a salivary nitrite test substrate, testing salivary nitrite levels with the test substrate, measuring nitrite levels detected in the testing; and correlating the measured nitrite levels with in vivo nitric oxide bio-availability.
In patent No. U.S. Pat. No. 8,435,570, Bryan et al, disclose a composition comprising a nitrite salt, a nitrate salt, and ascorbic acid. A method of enhancing cardiovascular performance or treating adverse cardiovascular event in a mammal is also provided.
Patent publication No 20130071371, Bryan et al, is related to a composition and method of providing nitric oxide and nitrite therapy to patients whereby a therapeutic amount including a dispersable medium is bioavailable within approximately 30 minutes of administration including. In embodiments of the disclosure, nitric oxide is produced in the oral cavity.
In the above patents, the nitrate source is either synthetic one or from a botanical nitrate source which includes spinach, beet root, artichoke, holybasil, green tea etc.
Supplementation of Amaranth extract enriched with nitrate enhances the nitrate and nitrite levels in the body. Presence of vitamin C promotes the conversion of nitrite to nitric oxide in body thereby increasing the antioxidant potential in body.
The formulation of nitrate enriched Amaranth extract with Vitamin C in the present formulation further improves the generation of nitric oxide by promoting the conversion of nitrite delivered from Amaranth extract to nitric oxide in the body. Vitamin C used may be of synthetic or natural origin.
Amaranthus are dietary leafy vegetables belonging to the family Amaranthaceae. Amaranth belongs to the genus Amaranthus and various species include Amaranthus dubius, Amaranthus spinosus, Amaranthus fimbriatus, Amaranthus floridanus, Amaranthus graecizans etc. Other dietary sources of nitrate are Spinach (Spinacia oleracia, family: Amaranthaceae), beet root (Beta vulgaris, family: Amaranthaceae), lettuce (Lactuca sativa, family: Asteraceae) etc.
The genus amaranthus contains approximately 70 species of worldwide distribution including pigweeds, water hemps, and grain amaranthus. For human consumption there are cultivated grain amaranths—A. caudatus, A. cruentus and A. hypochondriacus and vegetable amaranths—mainly A. dubius, A. tricolor and A. cruentus. Nowadays, the grain amaranthus are cultivated from the temperate to tropical zone and the vegetable amaranths mainly in the South Africa and South Asia.
These plants, which grow 90 centimeters to 150 centimeters tall, are abundant weeds in many parts of the world. All amaranth have alternate simple leaves. They may have some red color present on the stems. They bear minute, greenish flowers in dense clusters at the top of the plants. Their seeds may be brown or black in weedy species and light-colored in domestic species. Some amaranth species have been grown as a grain crop and a garden vegetable in various parts of the world, especially in South America.
Amaranthus are very promising crops. The main reasons could be content of protein, fat and active substances. The content of seed protein is in the range 13-18% with very good balanced amino acids. The lysine content is relatively high in the comparison with common cereals. The content of crude proteins in leaves is from 27 to 49% in d.m. what is more than in the leaves in the spinach. Amaranthus have comparable or higher amounts of essential amino acids as whole egg protein. The fat content is in the range 0.8-8.0%. The linoleic acid is the predominant fatty acid, with lesser amount of oleic and palmitic acids.